If a buyer defaults on a contract, which remedy is NOT usually available to the seller?

In real estate transactions, when a buyer defaults on a contract, the seller has a variety of remedies available to them, which typically include retention of earnest money, money damages, and rescission of the contract. However, specific performance is generally not a common remedy for sellers in the case of buyer default.

Retention of earnest money allows sellers to keep the deposit paid by the buyer as compensation for the breach. Money damages can be pursued to cover any financial losses incurred due to the buyer's failure to complete the transaction. Rescission enables the seller to cancel the contract and revert to the situation prior to entering into the agreement, often reclaiming the property and releasing any obligations to the buyer.

Specific performance, on the other hand, is a legal action that compels the buyer to fulfill their contractual obligations, typically more applicable when a seller seeks to enforce a transaction rather than remedy their own losses from a buyer's default. Since the buyer has defaulted, compelling them to complete the sale is less likely to be pursued by a seller as a remedy. This makes specific performance an uncommon or unlikely remedy in the context of a buyer's default.